


Bring me to life

by Duke_The_Bounty_Hunter



Series: The Duke and Catherine Chronicles [6]
Category: Original Work, The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 15:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17226482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duke_The_Bounty_Hunter/pseuds/Duke_The_Bounty_Hunter
Summary: Tom, Ava and some friends of theirs have to find a way to bring Duke back . . .





	Bring me to life

Tom woke up one Saturday and decided to visit Ava and Catherine and Duke. When he met the two, they seemed like genial people, despite Duke being taciturn. He arrived at the house and knocked on the door. Catherine answered.

“Is Ava in?” Tom asked.

“She didn’t come home yesterday,” answered Catherine.

“Ok. What about Duke?”

“He didn’t come home either.”

Tom decided to leave Catherine to her thoughts, so he told her that he would come back later. He made his way home  through the woods when he came across a teenage boy accompanied by a white terrier.

“You lost something, mate?” the teenage boy asked.

“Someone,” Tom said. “A friend. I hadn’t seen her since yesterday afternoon. Have you seen her?”

“No, but I’ll help you look.”

“Thanks. I’m Tom.”

“Eddie.”

“You wanna help me out?”

“Sure.”

Tom and Eddie continued down the path. They were talking about their everyday lives when black smoke appeared. It enveloped them.

Just when they were about to be taken over, a man identical to Duke appeared. The smoke saw him (how could smoke see? Tom and Eddie didn’t know), screamed and ran out the woods.

The man turned. Standing before Tom and Eddie was a woman.

“Are you two ok?” the woman asked.

“Yeah,” answered Eddie. “Why did the smoke flee?”

“Years ago, before Timbiya’s creation, Zgtozata was corporeal, but he deified Lucas as a deity. As punishment, Zgtozata was stripped of his powers, except possession, and banished.”

“Zgtozata? That is what the smoke is called?”

“Also,” added Tom, “why did you mimic a man?”

“Yeah. The smoke is called Zgtozata. As for why I mimicked a man, I cursed Zgtozata to flee from War or the Bounty Hunter or any guy who looks similar.”

“That’s why you were being Duke?”

“Yeah. Because Duke was a bounty hunter and that is one of Zgtozata’s fears.”

Tom asked the woman, who was called Carladonna, if she would accompany them. Carladonna accepted.

“What’s deified?” asked Eddie as they walked.

“It means that Zgtozata worshiped Lucas as a god, which is immoral, and Lucas didn’t like it, so he told Aragon.”

“And that’s how Zgtozata got his punishment?”

“Yeah.”

The three had reached the Prowling Panther, where they went inside and chose a buffet seat. Two girls approached them.

“Hey, Carla,” the older girl said.

“Bellona, Venus, it’s good to see you.” Carladonna turned to Eddie and Tom. “Boys, this is Bellona and Venus. Bellona and Venus, this is Tom and Eddie.”

“Did you tell them about Zgtozata?” Venus asked.

“Yeah.” Carladonna looked over her shoulder. “We must hurry. If we are to escape from them, we must hide.”

“From who?”

“Zgtozata and his lackeys.”

Suddenly Carladonna vanished!

“Where did she go?” Tom asked.

“No idea, but we’ve got to save her,” Bellona said.

The four exited the Prowling Panther.

*** 

Carladonna found herself in an unfamiliar room. A masked man stood nearby, watching.

“What is this place?” Carladonna questioned.

“Where all the guests go,” the man answered. “You want to kill?”

“No. I don’t. I wish to know the identity of the host.”

The man took off the mask. Carladonna recognised him as Craig and Keany’s firstborn son and Victor’s older brother, Ben.

“Why live under a different name? Why pretend to be Salyr Qha?”

“Undercover, you would say. Nothing personal.”

“You want to go back and see them, don’t you? Your parents, your brother. Especially your brother Victor.” Carladonna glanced at the door then looked at Ben. “There’s a girl who you have feelings for, but you are not sure she feels the same way about you. Run away from all this.”

Ben was surprised. “He’ll kill me, if he finds out. Then he’ll kill them.”

“I’ll make sure that won’t happen.”

They made a run for it.

Tom decided to head home with Eddie when he got a text from Catherine. She wanted him to come over.

“What is it?” he asked when he got there.

“You have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who?”

Catherine led him and Eddie into the sitting room, where a blond teenage girl sat on the sofa. It was Ava!

“Tom.” Ava nodded.

Tom was amazed. “Where do you begin?”

Ava stood up. “I was taken by the man at the bar of Hen and Fox, the one I told you about. He was a bounty hunter, like Duke. And there was more than one. I promised them I would bring him back.”

Eddie noticed someone next to Ava. “Who’s your friend?”

“Chris. Chris Williams. He had been missing for some time so I brought him with me. Natalie will be ecstatic to have her son back.”

Tom turned to Catherine. “Elaine said that the progeny will be at 45 Heath Hill Road. Any idea where it is?”

“Tie dye peace and love daisy will take you there.”

In beamed a white beanie bear with flower marks wearing a dress and hat out of tie dye fabric and brown sandals. With her was Peace and Peace Symbol bear.

The bear in the dress curtsied. “We will take you to where the progeny live.”

Everyone went outside. Parked in the driveway was a hippy bus with all sorts of flowers and logos and peace symbols. 

“A hippy bus?” Chris exclaimed.

“Yes,” said Peace Symbol bear.

Everyone got in.

“You know where the progeny live?” Eddie asked.

Peace turned around in his seat. “Of course. We’ve been there before.”

“Same,” Catherine added. “I’ve been there with my friends Robin and Daisy. Know any good songs?”

They played ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘She Loves You’ by the Beatles and Bellini’s ‘Samba Do Brasil.’

In the end, the hippy bus arrived at a picturesque farm and everyone hopped off.

At that moment, children got out of their houses synchronously, to look at the newcomers. They looked familiar.

Tom was amazed. “Did the children get a semi-immortality potion to stay this way forever?”

“No,” Peace said. “They’re clones.”

“So Elaine and her sisters, along with the children, are the progeny?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. Was anyone else cloned?”

“Emily’s older sister Katty. There’s also her cousin Thea and her sister Luisa. With the children, they have both the four and five year old clones and their sixteen year old clones. Ben, for example, has a clone of his five year old self and sixteen year old self.”

“That is a lot of clones.”

“Yes. It is,” said a voice.

Everyone, including the children, turned around. Standing there was a woman in unusual attire.

“Who are you?” Eddie asked.

“Atalanta,” the woman replied.

Tom gestured to the children. “Do you know about them?”

Atalanta looked at the children before turning her attention to Tom. “The reason behind the cloning experiment was to create a slave race that will serve Zgtozata, but a man disagreed with his idea of children being treated as chattel, so he took the clone of Emily, Elaine, to his house and the others came here, where they would be safe.”

“Elaine referred to that man as her father. She said that Zgtozata will begin chasing her as soon as he killed the remaining clones. She said that she and her sisters want to live free like everyone else.”

“Yes,” Atalanta agreed. “They did. They weren’t the only ones who feared extermination. Starting in 1948, Zgtozata created demi aliens, as part of his plan to take over this world and others like Azarth, Azark, Primosae and Quarth.”

“What was he trying to achieve?” Chris asked.

“He was trying to create the perfect hybrid, so it could blend into society, but ceased activity when he thought Lucas was watching. He put it on hold for some time before resuming in 1995, abducting people like Natalie Williams, Hayley Laurie and later Katty, Ben Ripley, Liam Magee, Sarah Mohammed, Katrina McAllister among others. Even Alina Hunter back in 1975. The man who disagreed with Zgtozata’s idea? He was also a clone.”

“Why was a man sent to kill them?”

“In Zgtozata’s eyes, the clones were considered traitors to his project, because they didn’t want to serve him. So the Toothbrush Moustache Man was dispatched to destroy them and terminate the colony.”

Everyone headed to the castle of Aragon. A guard escorted them to the throne room where three dragons sat – a red and gold dragon, a green and yellow dragon and a silver dragon wearing a chainmail breastplate.

The green and yellow dragon, Aragon, noticed them.

“Welcome,” he said. “What is it you seek? It will be given to you.”

Tom bowed. “Aragon, we would like to find a way to bring Duke back.”

“From another dimension?”

“No. From the tomb.”

The red and gold dragon, Maliss, had his green eyes on Tom. “If you did that, there are things for you to discover.”

“What things?” Ava asked.

“It involves discovering what happened to Derek’s sister, finding out about 18th December 1995, paying a visit to Nimueh and seeking the son of Dialga.”

What did Maliss mean? 18th December 1995? Neither Tom or Ava were born then, so they wouldn’t know. How would visiting Nimueh, finding out the truth about Erica and seeking Charlie help bring Duke back to life? Was it possible to escape the tomb?

Ava bowed. “Thank you.”

Tom, Eddie, Chris, Atalanta, the children, Peace, Peace Symbol bear and the original Peace followed her lead before leaving.

The next place Tom and Ava and the gang went to was the asylum where Erica, Derek’s sister, was being held. When they got there, Tom had to fight the desire to turn on his heels and scamper away. He suggested that they split up to cover more ground. He hurried down the corridor and entered a room, expecting to see a girl of sixteen, but was actually face-to-face with someone else.

Tom shook his head sadly. “It’s a dream, Erica. You dreamed it for yourself because the truth was too terrible.”

“Where am I?” Erica asked. “Where am I?”

“Because you are a bounty hunter.”

“What kind?”

“The one from the _X-Files_. Like Duke.”

The truth struck like lightning. Erica screamed.

“Erica, I am so sorry that you’re a bounty hunter.”

“It’s not your fault. It just happened. My emotions began to drain away, until unemotional remained. I created a dream world base on my memory as a child.”

“Thanks.” Tom ran off.

Erica watched him leave.

“Did you find Erica?” Atalanta asked after Tom joined the others in the corridor.

“Yes, but she became like Duke. Is it possible to become a bounty hunter like Duke?”

“Yes. On 18th December 1995, Colony aired on BBC Two, a day and ten months after airing on Fox. It was also when Natalie, who was eleven at the time, and Hayley Laurie, who was five, were taken so their DNA could be used for cloning. If we look for Nimueh, like Aragon said, she could help Erica. Did you speak to Jasmine?”

“Yes. She told Ava and I that Natalie was raised by bounty hunters and Duke said that he saw her then.”

Glad to leave the asylum, Tom and the others made camp in the forest. The children, Peace, Peace Symbol bear and the original Peace had returned to the farm town. Atalanta left to find Mimi.

“Tom?” Ava asked. “Do you think we’ll bring Duke back?”

“Yeah. I’m sure we will, with Charlie’s help.”

***

The next morning, Nimueh was waiting for them in the garden of her chateau.

“Have some Costa tea cakes.” Nimueh pushed a plate towards them.

Tom took one and said, “We need your help. Can you change Erica back to her usual self?”

“Of course. Next find Charlie and ask him to bring Duke back.”

“Will he agree with the request?”

“Yeah.”

Ava and Tom weren’t sure. If they brought Duke back, they hoped that he didn’t come back awful.

They thanked her and left. After they were gone, Nimueh went to an urn and opened it. Two beings materialised into the Titans. She knew what to do.

“Keep an eye on those two,” she told them.

The Titans whirled away.

After visiting Nimueh, Tom and Ava went to a cave behind a waterfall, where they saw a room and a teenage boy sitting on an armchair.

Charlie noticed them. “What brings you here?”

“We would like you to bring Duke back from the tomb,” answered Ava.

“Alright. I’ll tell you this: Nimueh took a leaf out of Lucas’s book.”

“In what way?”

“You know Lucas has the four horsemen of the apocalypse in an urn. Well, Nimueh has an urn matching his, only that it has the Titans. Anyway, when you return home, Ava, you’ll find Duke back to life, looking like himself again.”

“Thanks.”

When Ava returned home, Duke was looking like himself, like Charlie said.

“You’re back!” Ava ran up to Duke and threw her arms around him. “Carol told me that you were hit in your Achilles heel, whilst you were masquerading as Will.”

“I was hit there,” Duke agreed. “But then I found myself here, somehow. You saw him, didn’t you?”

Ava nodded, for she knew that Duke was referring to the man at the fortress. “There was a man at the fortress. Do you know who he is?”

“He’s a friend. He knew about my involvement with Catherine. He was there … when it happened.”

Catherine remembered that when Ava was born a man identical to Duke was watching her as she suffered through the agony of labour. It was only after her daughter was born that he left. Maybe, he was dispatched to ensure that Ava was delivered safely. “I know what you mean, Duke. He was there, the night Ava was born.”

“Who was that man?” Ava looked between Catherine and Duke.

“Timbiya,” said Catherine.


End file.
